Posts Tagged ‘Profiterole’

I love profiteroles (pronounced pruh-FIHT-uh-rohl). I can’t imagine why I haven’t added this recipe to my blog before today. Profiteroles can be found in Europe, the Mediterranean countries and America. They are small, crisp, hollow rounds of pâte à choux (pastry) that are filled with sweetened whipped cream, pastry cream or ice cream. In America a larger ‘profiterole’ is called a cream puff. If you pipe out the choux pastry in a long line it is an éclair. These different shapes and sizes can be filled with both sweet and savory fillings. Profiteroles are light, delicate hollow pastry puffs which are easy to make, but everyone will think you are a top-notch pastry chef.

Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in the butter, 2 tablespoons of the chocolate chips and salt until the butter and chocolate have melted. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Rapidly stir in the flour until no dry lumps remain. Return to medium heat and stir until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Transfer dough to stand mixer with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute.

While the mixture is still warm beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding the next egg only after the last one has been completely incorporated into the mixture. You should have a smooth, silky paste.

Drop the pâte à choux onto the prepared baking sheet in evenly spaced dollops about 2 tablespoons or a small scoop each.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. until the pastries have puffed up and turned golden brown.

Transfer the pastry from the baking sheet to a wire rack. Cool to room temperature.

Beat 1 cup of heavy cream to soft peaks; stir in the cocoa powder and confectioners’ sugar until the sugar has dissolved.

Bring the remaining cup of heavy cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted and smooth.

To assemble, poke a hole into the bottom of each pastry and using a pastry bag fill with the cocoa cream.

Place the filled profiteroles onto individual serving plates and top with the warm sauce.

ChefSecret: The choux paste can be piped through a pastry bag or dropped with a pair of spoons into small balls and baked to form largely hollow puffs. After cooling the baked pastry balls inject with filling using a pastry bag and narrow piping tip, or slicing off the top, filling, and reassembling.

The most common fillings are whipped cream, pastry cream or ice cream. They can be topped with powdered sugar or chocolate sauce. They can also be served plain, with a crisp caramel glaze or with fruit. Filled and glazed with caramel, they are assembled into a pyramid of pastry and turned into a croquembouches. These sculptures of pastry are often served at weddings in France and Italy, and during the Christmas Holiday in Germany and France.

Leftover profiteroles may be stored sealed in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.